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forbidding him to be consecrated, and that unless these matters were declared synodically, it would not be possible for him to receive the chrism of the high priesthood. "But if you give me," he said, "the rights of the Manganon, I will overlook what is being said and will permit 671 you to be anointed." Leichoudes, therefore, understanding that it was no longer possible for him to return to his former state, and considering it a disgrace to remain as he was, brought and gave what was requested, and thus permission was granted for the high-priestly ceremony to be performed. And Comnenus, having campaigned against the Hungarians and the Scythians, who are called Patzinaks, made a treaty with the Hungarians when they requested peace. But when he moved against the Scythians, the others submitted and made peace (for they were not all arrayed under one leader), but one of them, Selte, grew bold and, engaging a certain portion of the Roman force, was defeated and, having lost the greater part of his own men, fled with the survivors. Breaking camp from there, the emperor pitched his tent at Lobitzos, as the end of the month of September was already near. But when a violent rainstorm broke and much snow fell out of season, most of the cavalry perished and many soldiers were endangered by the cold, and rivers, having overflowed their banks and flooded, suddenly swept away their provisions, so that the necessary supplies failed 672 for both the army and its baggage animals. Then, when the raining and snowing had ceased for a little while, the emperor came forth from the royal tent and stood under an enormous oak, which stood somewhere there; and some of the men of high rank stood around him. But when a shout arose in the place, the emperor and those around him moved away from the oak, and it was immediately torn up by the roots and fell. The emperor, returning to the great city and offering thanks to God for this salvation, erected a church within the palace to the protomartyr Thekla; for it was on the day on which her memory is celebrated that he escaped the danger from the oak. But now it must be told how he laid aside the empire, even if the historians do not agree about him. For Psellos, a man of many words, says that that emperor, while at leisure on hunts and frequently raising his spear-bearing right hand against bears and boars, was struck in the side by a cold wind, and from this a shivering came upon him and a fever flared up from deep within, and on the following day his side was pierced with pain and 673 his breathing was not strong, and from these things his survival became doubtful or he even completely despaired of his life, and having established Constantine Doukas in the empire, he passed on to the better life. But Thrakesios, on the other hand, also related that the emperor was hunting near Neapolis, and that a boar, dreadful to behold, appeared from somewhere, and Comnenus, having given his horse free rein, pursued the boar, but it plunged into the sea and disappeared, and in that moment a flash as if of lightning struck the emperor, and the emperor, disturbed by its bolt, both fell from his horse and lay on the ground, spitting foam from his mouth and sensible of nothing around him; and from there he was put on a small boat and brought to the palace and was sick for a short while, then indeed was despaired of, and had his hair shorn and instead of the purple put on a rough monastic habit, having appointed Constantine Doukas as emperor, and thus he came to anchor at the monastery of Stoudios, and there he lived out the remainder of his life, having recovered from the illness. And he reigned for two years and three 674 months, being energetic and showing a dignified character, very sharp in action, most skilled as a general in matters of war, not having conversed in letters, but paying attention to them and welcoming their pupils. And being accused that he had undertaken a tyranny, he would say, "I was reluctant to serve a fellow servant and not to receive my due." And the proedros Constantine Doukas, having obtained the empire without trouble, as has been said, many of the

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ἀπείργοντα τοῦ ἱερᾶσθαι αὐτόν, καὶ εἰ μὴ ταῦτα λαληθεῖεν συνοδικῶς, μὴ οἷόν τ' εἶναι τοῦ χρίσματος αὐτὸν τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης τυχεῖν. "εἰ δὲ δοίης μοι" ἔφη "τῶν Μαγγάνων τὰ δικαιώματα, παραβλέψομαι τὰ λεγόμενα καὶ παραχωρήσω χρι671 σθῆναί σε." συνιδὼν οὖν ὁ Λειχούδης ὡς οὐκέτι αὐτῷ εἰς τὴν προτέραν ἐπανελθεῖν κατάστασιν ἔξεστιν, οὕτω δὲ μένειν δι' αἰσχύνης ποιούμενος, φέρων δίδωσι τὰ αἰτούμενα, καὶ οὕτω παραχωρεῖται τελεσθῆναι τὴν ἀρχιερατικὴν τελετήν. Ὁ δὲ Κομνηνὸς κατὰ τῶν Οὔγγρων καὶ τῶν Σκυθῶν, οἳ Πατζινάκαι λέγονται, ἐκστρατεύσας τοῖς μὲν Οὔγγροις εἰρήνην αἰτησαμένοις ἐσπείσατο. κατὰ δὲ τῶν Σκυθῶν ὁρμήσαντι οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι ὑπέκυψαν καὶ εἰρήνευσαν (οὐ γὰρ ὑφ' ἕνα πάντες ἡγεμόνα ἐτάττοντο), εἷς δ' αὐτῶν ὁ Σελτὲ θρασυνθεὶς καὶ μοίρᾳ τινὶ τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων δυνάμεως συμβαλὼν ἥττητο καὶ τὸ πολὺ τῶν οἰκείων ἀποβαλὼν μετὰ τῶν περιλειφθέντων ἀπέδρα. ἀναζευγνὺς δ' ἐκεῖθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν τῷ Λοβιτζῷ, ἤδη τοῦ τέλους ὄντος ἐγγὺς τοῦ Σεπτεβρίου μηνός. ὄμβρου δὲ ῥαγδαίου καταρραγέντος καὶ χιόνος πεσούσης πρὸ ὥρας πολλῆς, τῆς ἵππου τε τὸ πλέον διέφθαρτο καὶ στρατιῶται πολλοὶ τῷ ψύχει κεκινδυνεύκασι, καὶ ποταμοὶ δ' ὑπερχειλεῖς γεγονότες καὶ πελαγίσαντες τὰ ἐπιτήδεια σφῶν ἀθρόον παρέσυραν, ὡς καὶ τῷ στρατιωτικῷ καὶ τοῖς ὑποζυγίοις αὐτοῦ τὰ ἀναγκαῖα ἐπι672 λιπεῖν. εἶτα τοῦ ὕειν τε καὶ τοῦ νίφειν ἐπὶ μικρὸν παυθέντων τῆς βασιλείου σκηνῆς προῆλθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ὑπὸ δρῦν ἔστη παμμεγέθη, ἐκεῖ που ἑστῶσαν· καί τινες τῶν ἐν ὑπεροχαῖς αὐτὸν περιίστανται. βοῆς δ' ἐν τῷ τόπῳ συμβάσης, μετέστησαν τῆς δρυὸς ὁ βασιλεύς τε καὶ οἱ περὶ αὐτόν, ἡ δ' αὐτίκα ῥιζόθεν ἐκσπασθεῖσα κατέπεσεν. ὁ δὲ αὐτοκράτωρ ἐπανελθὼν εἰς τὴν μεγαλόπολιν καὶ ἀποτιννὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς σωτηρίας ταύτης τὰ χαριστήρια τῷ θεῷ ναὸν ἐντὸς τῶν βασιλείων ἀνήγειρε τῇ πρωτομάρτυρι Θέκλᾳ· κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν γάρ, ἐν ᾗ τελεῖται ἡ μνήμη ταύτης, τὸν ἐκ τῆς δρυὸς ἐξέφυγε κίνδυνον. Ἀλλ' ἤδη ῥητέον καὶ ὅπως τὴν βασιλείαν ἀπέθετο, εἰ καὶ μὴ συμφωνοῦσιν οἱ συγγεγραφότες περὶ αὐτοῦ. ὁ μὲν γὰρ πολὺς τὴν γλῶτταν Ψελλὸς ἐν θήραις ἐκεῖνον λέγει τὸν βασιλέα σχολάζοντα καὶ συχνάκις τὴν δεξιὰν λογχοφόρον ἐπ' ἄρκτους καὶ σύας ἐπανατείνοντα βληθῆναι πνεύματι ψυχρῷ τὴν πλευράν, κἀντεῦθεν φρίκην ἐπισυμβῆναι αὐτῷ καὶ πυρετὸν ἐκ τοῦ βάθους ἀναφλεγῆναι, εἰς δὲ τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν νύττεσθαι τὴν πλευρὰν καὶ 673 τὸ ἆσθμα μὴ ἐρρῶσθαι αὐτῷ, κἀκ τούτων ἀμφισβητήσιμον γενόμενον τὸ βιωσόμενον ἢ καὶ ἀπεγνωκότα τέλεον τὴν ζωήν, καὶ τὸν ∆οῦκαν Κωνσταντῖνον τῇ βασιλείᾳ ἐγκαταστήσαντα, πρὸς τὴν κρείττω μετατάξασθαι βιοτήν. ὁ δέ γε Θρᾳκήσιος θηρᾶν κἀκεῖνος τὸν βασιλέα ἱστόρησε περὶ τὴν Νεάπολιν, σῦν δ' ἐπιφανῆναί ποθεν τὴν θέαν φρικτόν, καὶ τὸν Κομνηνὸν ἐνδεδωκότα τῷ ἵππῳ τὸν χαλινὸν διώκειν τὸν σῦν, τὸν δὲ εἰσδῦναι τὴν θάλασσαν γενέσθαι τε ἀφανῆ, ἐν τοσούτῳ δὲ ὡς ἐξ ἀστραπῆς ἐνσκῆψαι λαμπηδόνα τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ τῇ ταύτης βολῇ διαταραχθέντα τὸν αὐτοκράτορα τοῦ ἵππου τε ἐκπεσεῖν καὶ κεῖσθαι παρὰ τῇ γῇ ἀφρὸν τοῦ στόματος ἀποπτύοντα καὶ μηδὲν τῶν κατ' αὐτὸν αἰσθανόμενον, ἀκατίῳ δ' ἐκεῖθεν ἐμβιβασθέντα κομισθῆναι εἰς τὰ βασίλεια καὶ νοσήσαντά τι βραχύ, εἶτα δὴ καὶ ἀπογνωσθέντα, κείρασθαί τε τὴν τρίχα καὶ ἀντὶ τῆς πορφύρας τραχὺ τριβώνιον ἀμφιέσασθαι, τὸν ∆οῦκαν Κωνσταντῖνον βασιλέα προχειρισάμενον, καὶ οὕτω τῇ τοῦ Στουδίου προσορμίσαι μονῇ, κἀκεῖ τὸ λοιπὸν καταβιῶναι τῆς βιοτῆς ἀναρρωσθέντα ἐκ τοῦ νοσήματος. ἐβασίλευσε δὲ δύο ἐνιαυτοὺς καὶ μῆνας 674 τρεῖς δραστήριος ὢν καὶ τὸ ἦθος σοβαρὸν ἐνδεικνύμενος, πρὸς πράξεις ὀξύτατος, στρατηγικώτατος τὰ πολέμια, λόγοις μὲν οὐχ ὡμιληκώς, προσέχων δ' αὐτοῖς καὶ τοὺς τούτων τροφίμους προσδεχόμενος. αἰτιώμενος δὲ ὅτι τυραννίδι ἐπικεχείρηκεν "ὤκνουν" ἔλεγε "τῷ συνδούλῳ δουλεύειν καὶ τῶν εἰκότων μὴ τυγχάνειν." Ὁ δὲ πρόεδρος Κωνσταντῖνος ὁ ∆οῦκας τῆς βασιλείας τυχὼν ἀπραγμόνως, ὡς εἴρηται, πολλοὺς τῶν τῆς